The Lion King 3: Kopa's Return
by Shaniso-san
Summary: Zira has been defeated, Simba's pride has recruited the former "Outlanders", and peace has been restored to the kingdom. But when a raggedy lion shows up on Simba's doorstep, looking oh-so-familiar, things may just fall into disarray once more...
1. Prologue: If Only It Were That Simple

Author's Note:

Alright, so first and foremost, I'm not a professional writer and I won't pretend that I am. This story is still fairly rough; some parts I like, some parts I don't. As such, though I don't plan to have any real future in writing, I would like some strong critique on this story. What do you like about it? What irks you about it? What parts (if any) just straight up make you cringe in horror and disgust? I'd really like to know. Just remember, a constructive criticism is not the same thing as a criticism. If you think my story sucks horribly and I should just stop trying to write altogether, that's fine. However, I'd appreciate if you at least give me some reasoning as to why my story instills such fiery hatred in you.

Secondly, I highly dislike the names of two characters (both of which are introduced in this chapter; one you'll probably be able to pick out even if I don't tell you who it is) and I would like this remedied as quickly as possible. Within the first few chapters, if at all possible. The names at present are Kam and Mali, in respect to their order of appearance in the story. I can't for the life of me come up with anything better, so if you could give me some ideas in a review (along with your feelings on the story itself, of course), I'd be quite appreciative.

Thirdly, and probably the most important thing to keep in mind, is that I'm not keeping any sort of schedule with writing this fan fiction. I'm not going to lie to you and say, "Hey, I'm incredibly busy, but I'll do whatever I can to post a chapter at the end of every week/month/etc." because it probably won't happen. I have the first chapter already completed, but I won't post that till next weekend at the earliest (unless, for whatever reason, this story actually ends up being semi-popular and I get a bunch of requests to post the next chapter sooner), and I've started work on the second chapter as well.

This story is very open-ended at this point, as I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to proceed. I have a little bit of a writer's block, at the moment, hence why I won't promise a scheduled chapter release pattern. This is merely a side project to quell my occasional, insatiable urges to write, but I don't have the incentive to sit down and just work through a writer's block every time one arises. I'm more likely to say, "Screw it." and leave it alone for a month or two before I buckle down and figure something out.

Long author's note, I know. But I'll shut up for now.

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**The Lion King 3: Kopa's Return**

**Prologue****:**

"Whaddya mean, you don't like him?"

Shimmering blue eyes stared for a moment at the dark-furred lioness who had addressed their owner.

"I mean just that," began the questioned lioness, "I don't like him."

There was a short silence as the second turned and walked a few feet away from the first, looking to the clouds above.

"Honestly," she continued, "You ask the dumbest questions sometimes. '_I don't like him.' 'Whaddya mean, you don't like him?' 'I mean, I don't like him!'_" The slightly irritated female mockingly repeated the three-liner, glancing back and forth for each line.

"Well, what's wrong with him?" the first female asked, finally building the courage to approach once again. "He was a rogue, and the king only let him stay because you practically _begged_ him. Besides, come on 'Tani, you've got this guy wrapped around your paw. He's loopy for you; he'd do _anything _to make sure you were happy."

"Yeah, that's just the problem. Maybe I don't _want _to be the one doing the wrapping." Vitani paused for a few seconds to let the statement sink in a little bit. "It was nice while it lasted, but he's gone soft, Safara. Even _you_ must have seen that. I didn't agree to be his mate because I wanted a slave to do my bidding; I agreed to be his mate because he had that wild, outlandish streak that made him seem so free and independent… but it's obvious that that side is long gone now.."

Safara sat silently in contemplation of all that her friend had told her.

"Sooo… can I have him?" was her thoughtful revelation.

Vitani turned around for the first time in a few minutes to look at Safara.

"What?"

"If you don't want him, can I have him?"

"Wha--? Oh my gosh…"

Without a proper answer, Vitani turned straight back around and began walking away, towards Pride Rock.

"Whaaaaat?" Safara drawled, "It's a legitimate question!"

Seeing that Vitani had no intentions of stopping or coming back any time soon, Safara let out a deep sigh and padded off after her. She caught up just in time to walk up to the promontory of Pride Rock, where they both sat down and looked out at the savannah.

A cool breeze began to blow, easily lightening the previously tense mood. Vitani rose her head upward, closing her eyes, soaking in the peacefulness of the moment… while it lasted. Her nose wrinkled and her eyes shut even tighter at the sound of an all-too-familiar voice from behind.

"Hey, Kam," she answered her fiancé casually, not bothering to turn around, "Whaddya want?" she finished, a little more icily than she had intended.

"Oh," he stammered, taken aback, "I just.. wondered how your walk was." He smiled meekly.

"It was fine." _Though not quite as long as I would have liked. _She finished in her head. "I'm not staying for long, though." Vitani was still looking out into the savannah, so Kam couldn't see the glimmer in her eyes. "Was thinking of spending the night at one of my old hangouts on the border of the Outlands. Just for a little change in scenery."

"Well, that sounds nice. Can I--"

"Girls only." Vitani cut him off sharply, giving her soon-to-be mate a wry smile. "Just for one night, I promise." _Unfortunately. _She thought bitterly.

As if on cue, who would come bounding out of the Pride den but Kiara and Kovu's son, Mali. Cute kid. Real cute kid. Most gorgeous green eyes; shone like emeralds. He pranced out of the cave shouting 'Aunt Vitani' and ran up to her to rub against her leg.

"Aunt Vitani!" he cried again, looking straight up at her, "Can I come with you? Huh, can I, can I?"

"Sure, as long as it's alright with your mom and dad." Vitani crooned appeasingly.

"It is!" the cub replied excitedly, "I figured that's what you'd say, so I asked before I came out!" He closed his eyes and sat up straighter, looking quite proud of himself.

Vitani looked back up to Kam and flashed a toothy grin. "Cute kid, huh?"

Kam didn't reply right away, but managed to blurt out a single phrase before Vitani had started off with Safara and Mali. "But _Mali_ is a guy!"

Vitani knew just what to say, "But have you _seen_ his face?" she almost squeaked, picking up Mali by the scruff and dangling him in front of Kam innocently. The cub stared at him with two glimmering pools of green, and after a moment of awkward silence giggled cutely. Vitani set him back down and hurriedly nudged him down the front steps of Pride Rock. Kam sighed and padded softly back into the den, defeated… by a cub. Nice.

"Brilliant work, Mali." Vitani praised the cub. He had followed along with her plan with precision and ease. "You're quite the actor."

"Thanks, Aunt Vitani." He smiled brightly.

Vitani sighed. "You know you don't have to call me that. I'm just fine with 'Tani."

"Yeah, I know. But that's what I have to say around mom and dad, so I'm just used to calling you 'Aunt Vitani'." It made sense. "So where are we going?" he asked curiously after a moment or two.

"Heh, a place I haven't visited since _long_ before you were born."

Safara cast a knowing glance, which Vitani met evenly, easily recognizing the direction they were headed. It was the place that she and Vitani had always gone whenever Zira was in one of her 'moods'. Never a good thing to be around her when she was truly pissed off; about as smart as standing next to a burning acacia tree as it falls and clocks you straight on the head. Actually, it was more like a burning acacia tree that grows claws on its branches and tries to gore your eyes out, but you get the point.

By the time the trio reached their destination, the sun had begun to set, painting the sky a magnificent blend of orange and violet. A few stars were already visible, and the kings and queens of the past were steadily pouring into their respective places in the night sky.

They had reached the border of the Outlands. A small clump of smooth, cozy-looking boulders was set next to a few acacias, just on the grassy edge of the Pride Land side of the border. It was a homey spot: not nearly as grand or showy as Pride Rock, though still quite a bit more appealing than the termite mounds visible in the distance.

Vitani shivered once, recalling all the wretched days she had spent in and among those mounds. She quickly recovered though, and lie down on the highest boulder in the pile. Safara nimbly followed her up, but Mali seemed a bit more cautious and wouldn't climb up until Vitani reassuringly flicked her tail and nodded, telling him that it was perfectly safe. He hesitated only a second before bounding from stone to stone, nearly slipping once or twice, until he too was perched atop the boulders.

The night dragged along at a sluggish pace, but at least it was quiet. Perhaps a little bit too quiet… alright, maybe not. But it was quiet. Vitani liked that; it gave her plenty of good thinking time. Thinking about how she was going to break it to Kam that she didn't really want to have anything to do with him anymore.

Various scenarios bombarded her conscious mind. Thoughts of telling him flat out, rather harshly to be honest, that she didn't want to be with him anymore. _Nah, then he might think I was just leading him on the whole time… then suddenly _I'm _the bad guy. _Another thought. _Hmm… maybe I could start giving discreet hints that we're not as close as we used to be, and that I _want _our relationship to dwindle into nothingness. _Another flaw. _Aw, but that'd take way too long. I don't have the patience to keep up with something like that. Crap. _

Next to the pondering Vitani, Mali had crawled beside Safara's warm flank and curled himself into a tight ball and was now sleeping peacefully. Safara was still awake, but barely. The only thing keeping her eyes from shutting completely were the random mumblings of Vitani whenever she created, and usually shot back down, an idea to dump Kam.

"Vitani," the tawny lioness didn't respond to her name immediately, seeming to finish off her last thought before reacting, "You've been staring at the sky and mumbling to yourself for hours. How 'bout you give it a rest for tonight and get some sleep." Vitani stared apologetically for a moment before Safara went on, "Or at least keep it all in your head, so _I _can get some sleep." Safara smiled.

"Nah, you're right. I should get some shut-eye. I wasn't getting anywhere anyway."

"Trying to figure out how to get Kam off your back without making him hate you?"

"Mhm." Vitani nodded solemnly.

"Hey, my offer still stands. I'd be glad to take him off your paws."

Vitani laughed lightly. "I couldn't do that. Just because I don't like him doesn't mean I have the right to pass him off like he's mine to give. It just seems wrong."

"So that's a 'no', then?"

"That's a 'no'."

"Damn."

Mali stirred from his slumber, stretching his back legs out, but didn't open his eyes or remove his front paws from in front of them. He groaned groggily, then tucked his back paws in and was silent.

"Good job, Safara," Vitani teased sarcastically, "You just set off his little kid 'cuss alarm' and almost woke him up."

Safara chuckled. "Whoops. My bad."

~ æ ~ | ~ æ ~

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More Author's Notes:

So there you have it. The prologue to yet another TLK3. Seems Vitani is having second thoughts with her choice of mates (where he came from, even I don't know). My original intention was to simply make this a KopaTani fan fiction to spite a certain someone on DA, but now I'm not so sure if I want to limit it to that. I still want to keep to that basic story, in the sense that Kopa and Vitani probably will end up together (just because I love that pairing so much), but I think it's best to keep that as a side plot if I can.

That may require me to do a little editing in this chapter to keep it from making Vitani's love-life look like the main plot, but I think the way that I handled the first chapter may give me enough leeway to do that without any severe editing to the Prologue. We'll see. Only time will tell now (and any reviews I'm lucky enough to receive).


	2. Chapter 1: Blood Prince of Pride Rock

Author's Note:

Okay, I'll try not to type a whole new story in the AN again. Firstly, I apologize for not submitting this yesterday; I believe I did promise that's when I'd have it up by. My Saturday just sorta came and went; we've had two pretty good-sized snow storms back-to-back and been out of school for a 6 day (this'll be the 5th day) weekend. Yeah, it's a poor excuse, but that's how it happened.

Next, just so I don't get people's hopes up too high, what I said about not updating regularly still stands. This will be the last chapter you're promised to get at a predetermined date (which I managed to miss anyhow; I'm such a good person, I know). It's a fair bit longer than the Prologue, and the actual plot will be coming in to play (Yaaaaay plot), so that's a good thing, right?

Aaaaaand I think that's everything I wanted to say. So without further ado, installment numero dos of The Lion King 3: Kopa's Return.

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**Chapter 1****: Blood Prince of Pride Rock**

"I'm almost there… I'm--almost--there." He forced himself to keep saying it. The monolithic Pride Rock was in sight, and that is precisely where he intended to go.

He was fairly ragged, dirt and grime matted to his once bright coat. Dried blood gathered around old cuts that hadn't been washed yet. And he was absolutely spent, that much wasn't difficult to see. His eyes drooped tiredly, and he practically limped as he slowly ambled to the looming Pride Rock, growing larger and more intimidating with each wearied step.

Stripes of damp, darkened fur streaked down the young lion's face. Though his eyes were no longer moist themselves, the aftermath of heavy sobbing was apparent on his face. He still looked visibly shaken, and he continually looked back over his shoulder, not with fear or apprehension, but with sorrow and regret. He squinted to focus on one particular tree a long way back, then turned to face forward again… only to turn back and stare at the tree. This motion was repeated a number of times before he stopped altogether.

The young lion, eyes moistening once again, looked back one last time. Perhaps it was a mistake. An unbearably bright, possibly unnatural, flash of light overwhelmed his senses. Instantaneously, a vivid picture chimed in with the light. A hyena, snarling and bearing its sharp canines. Drool dripped from its mouth and blood soaked its teeth. It glared at him with both anger and a thirst for blood, then snapped fiercely at his face. Though it wasn't real, the image was intense enough to affect his body. Fear overtook him and he nearly doubled over backwards. Immediately, the lion broke his gaze from the trees long behind him and stared straight down, panting heavily. His eyes were wide and dread was spelled clearly across his face. Horrible memories flooded into his mind and he began to shake violently, nearly collapsing twice before he was able to regain enough control to stand up and continue walking. He didn't look back again.

He was within thirty yards or so now of Pride Rock. This was… his home. Or at least, it had been at one point. Now he couldn't even be sure if his family was still around to greet him. Worry and doubt coursed through his mind and he began to think of all the things that could go wrong with his return. He'd certainly been gone long enough for a new king to have taken over. What if one _had_ overthrown Simba? What if this new king wanted nothing to do with another lion, previously royal or otherwise? Or say Simba was still the king. What if none of the pride recognized him? It wasn't a far' fetched thought; he'd been gone since before he could walk or talk. But then again, even if all the others had forgotten, certainly the queen, Nala, would know his face. After all… she was his mother.

He had made up his mind. He sprang to life, a newfound vitality inside him, and rushed up the rocky stairs of Pride Rock and didn't stop till he arrived at the entrance to the pride den. What he saw inside sent a surge of breathless anxiety straight down his spine. A number of lions, some male, some female, sat staring at him with curious eyes. His first reaction to such a sight would normally be to turn tail and run, but considering he had spent the last few days running just to _get_ here, that wasn't an option. Though the general consensus of emotion in the cave seemed to be simple curiosity, mixed emotions were present in a few of the faces the young lion saw there.

One lioness in particular caught his eye. She was a cream-coated female with brilliant green eyes. When he had first appeared in the cave entrance, she had looked just as dumbfounded as the rest; but as the seconds ticked by at their own sluggish pace, her face had brightened, seeming to realize bit by bit that this was indeed someone she knew very well. _She recognizes me! I knew she would; it's mom!_

His mind was traveling swifter than a cheetah in pursuit of prey, but his mouth was not nearly so eager to work for him now.

"M-mom..?" he stuttered, smiling weakly as he took a cautious step into the cave towards the lioness he knew had to be his mother.

"Kopa!" she shouted gleefully, bounding quickly over to him, nearly knocking him over as she smothered his face in loving licks. If she had noticed how bad the dirty prince must have tasted, covered from head to toe in dirt and blood, she showed no signs of it. "I knew it-- I just knew-- you'd come home-- I knew-- you'd be back, someday--" she breathed between licks.

Not two seconds after the queen had called out Kopa's name had it clicked also in the king's mind that this lion was his son. Soon he, and most of the other lions in the den, were surrounding the prince. The only souls to stay behind were Kovu and Kiara, neither of which had any idea who this 'Kopa' character was that everyone seemed so happy to see. None of the outlander lionesses knew much of him either, but seeing the reaction this new face had gotten from the king and queen, it seemed only fitting to follow the crowd up and greet Kopa.

Kovu seemed to be absolutely lost, uncertain of how to react at all, while Kiara seemed to be slowly piecing together who this lion must be. She had never been told that she had a brother, yet here he was, practically a reincarnate of her -- or their -- grandfather, Mufasa. As a matter of fact, minus the reddish-brown mane, he was nearly an exact copy of _her_. The only question that still remained was: why had she never heard so much as the name of her own brother? She had grown up thinking she was the only cub born to the king and queen. The one true heir. Now that theory had been completely shattered on the cave wall, tiny fragments of it strewn about the den.

She stared silently through the group of felines at her brother. And for a moment he seemed to be happily mingling with the pride. That's when Kopa looked away from the group and met the awed gaze of his sister, Kiara. The two eyed each other curiously for a short time before Kopa broke eye contact to ask a mostly inaudible, "Who is that?" to his mother. Nala smiled and motioned for Kopa to follow her.

Kiara had been practically holding her breath since Kopa had first appeared, and she only now seemed to be able to release it, allowing her to breath regularly. The twins were now face to face. Kiara, surprisingly enough, was the first to speak.

"So… I've had a brother… all this time." she said aloud to no one in particular, though she was looking directly at Kopa's face.

Kopa wasn't entirely sure what to say, but he had to at least give a decent response a shot.

"Uh.. Yeah. And I've… had a sister. Small world, huh?"

Kiara was silent, seeming to take in this new sound. The voice of the brother she never had. When she didn't respond for a few tense moments, Kopa frowned slightly, afraid that he may have said the wrong thing. He turned to his mother for help, but she just nodded toward Kiara and smiled.

"… Kiara?" he asked at last.

Her head jolted up, finally snapping back to reality.

"Hmm?"

"Do you, uh, wanna go for a walk? I need to head to the water hole to get washed up a bit--"

"A _bit_?" Kiara shocked herself with the loudness of her comment and quickly covered her mouth with a paw and took a step backward.

Kopa too was taken by surprise by his sister's sudden boldness, but recovered easily enough when she shut herself up. "So, it that a yes?" he questioned, stifling a laugh.

"Yeah," she replied, blushing now, "I'd like that."

The two slowly made their way out of the den and headed down into the savannah. They chatted softly for most of the walk. Nothing of importance; essentially all speculation about the other's appearance and how much alike the two really looked. As both lions began to embrace their shared heritage, accepting they had both acquired a sibling just like that, friendly conversation soon became more open. Kiara's sense of humor returned and the chatter turned back toward Kopa's rank stench, and the last time he had taken a bath. There was a good bit of light-hearted laughter.

After Kopa had finished washing, but before the royal siblings had finished talking, darkness had crept slowly across the grasslands. The moon glittered majestically in the crystalline water; the stars accented it beautifully.

"Hmm… you're probably a better hunter than I am, then." Kiara laughed.

"Aw, come on, you couldn't be _that_ bad!" Kopa was laughing as well.

"I guess you'll just have to tag along on the next hunt to find out."

Their was a brief silence.

Kopa sighed lightly before breaking the stillness, "Well, I guess we should get back. I'm all cleaned up and I'm sure everyone's going to have some questions for me. It's not fair to make 'em wait."

"Yeah… though I think you may have missed a spot…" Kiara grinned and gave Kopa a sisterly lick of affection on the side of his face. He winced at first, but smiled when he recognized the loving intention, then playfully batted at her muzzle with a paw.

They both smiled again before proceeding back towards Pride Rock. They didn't speak on the return trip; not out of timidity, but rather to show respect for the remarkable feeling of tranquility that the starry night sky provided. When they arrived, the peaceful feelings quickly dissipated into strange quivering sensations of apprehension bubbling inside their stomachs. Something was wrong. Neither was quite sure what to make of the mutual nervousness between them until they came up the rocky stairway to look into the pride cave. A dismal quagmire of mournfulness and regret emanated from every lion inside.

Kiara's jaw fell limply at the horrible state of shock that had overtaken her family and pride. Kopa, seeming to understand, if only to an extent, the pain the pride was showing, stood numbly where he was with his stoic face focused on the rocky floor. Nala was the first to notice her children standing awestruck in the cave entrance. She quickly got to her feet, wiping what appeared to be tears from her eyes with a paw, and did her best to put on a cheerful face with which to greet her dumbfounded daughter.

"Hello, Kiara… Kopa." Nala realized how broken her voice sounded and cleared her throat to give an optimistic tone another attempt, "How was your walk?" It didn't help much. She sniffled once or twice while she waited for Kiara to reply.

Kiara, who is very emotional by nature, was already on the verge of tears herself without even knowing what was wrong. Seeing the sorrow on the face of so many lions, especially her grandmother, Sarafina, was more than enough. Her voice cracked severely as she held back her tears, "What _happened_?"

Nala opened her mouth to explain, but restrained herself. "Perhaps… perhaps Kopa can explain better than me."

Kiara gasped and turned back to her newly discovered sibling, who was now sobbing silently to himself. How had all this happened? The day had been going so well…

"Kopa, what's going--"

"I left her…" was all he could utter before falling victim to a harsh fit of coughing, gasping for breath between sobs. His tear-stricken face was agonized. The rest of the pride looked on with an ominous sense of dread, waiting for what they knew was coming next. Except for Kiara.

"What're you talking about?" she nearly shouted, starting to grow panicked.

"Grandma! I LEFT her! I left her to DIE!" Kopa collapsed upon the last word, no longer able to contain his anguish.

Nala slowly padded to his side to console the broken prince, gently licking his mane and 'shh-ing' him like any mother would her newborn cub. Slowly but surely he was able to regain his composure enough to elaborate on his hysterical statement.

"It was about four nights ago. A band of hyenas moved into the same area that we were staying. It had happened in the past, though not on quite so large a scale. Just a couple of 'em at a time. And they'd always moved on within a few days. This time they didn't."

Most of the lions had either gasped or growled upon the mention of hyenas, skipping straight to conclusions that Kopa and Sarabi had been run out of their home by the vicious brutes. All who _had_ come to those conclusions wouldn't have been far off.

"With so many hyenas seeming bent on staying in the area, we thought it best to move on. That was when Grandma told me about a place where we would be safe. A place called Pride Rock."

A number of eyes widened in amazement and realization.

"She told me it was a few days journey, but that we would definitely be safe there. So we headed out after a good drink. We didn't bother trying to hunt, knowing it would only bring those damned hyenas to us more quickly. After about a day of walking, we began to pick up signs from behind us that we were being followed; we knew it was the hyenas. They weren't following closely, but we could tell they were onto us, so we stepped up the pace. They only seemed to get closer as we sped up.

"I could tell that we were moving too quickly for Grandma to be comfortable, and multiple times I had asked if she wanted to slow down, but she refused each time. The hyenas would've been on top of us in a number of hours, so we kept going. By the time we were half way, they were within seeing distance. We ran as fast as we could and managed to put some extra distance between us, but we both knew they would catch up again soon enough. And probably before we were ready to run again. We're faster than they are, but we aren't built to move quickly for any period of time, we lack the stamina that they seem to carry so abundantly. We were within a day's journey of Pride Rock, closer if you ran, by the time they caught us again…"

Kopa paused here and began to tear up once again, speaking more slowly between pained breaths.

"Too exhausted to run again, the hyenas overtook us… we had to fight. We had no chance of winning, but we had to fight… or die…

"At first they just surrounded us, laughing and jeering at us, sending in a lone hyena to snap at one of our tails or nip at our legs and run away again before we could attack back… they were playing with us. And we were powerless to stop them. They kept it up for what seemed like eternity… an eternity of hell. I don't know if they just got bored with us after that, but they attacked. There was at least a few dozen.

"I suppose they realized that even though she was older, Grandma was clearly the more seasoned fighter, so they focused their attacks on her. I had my own difficulties, but she got it the worst. I think she actually managed to kill a few, serves 'em right, before they knocked her out. I wasn't about to let them kill her, not like that. So I made a split second decision and grabbed her by the scruff and dragged her up a nearby tree. How I managed to get myself, let alone both of us, up that tree is beyond me. Adrenaline, I guess.

"Looking back, I'm not sure what I was hoping to accomplish by it. It kept us from being eaten for a while, I suppose, but didn't think they would just wait it out underneath us. Even if they weren't going to be able to eat us after we died, they didn't plan on letting either of us go. Grandma wasn't in any condition to go anywhere even if there wasn't a huge pack of hyenas waiting for us on the ground."

Tears were welling in Kopa's eyes as he recounted the helplessness he felt while pinned in the tree. No where to go. No one to call to for help. His one companion who had been with him from the start was unconscious and fading quickly. And with the hyenas holding their ground, he didn't stand much chance himself.

"It wasn't till after nightfall that Grandma finally came to. She was barely able to keep her eyes open; she was so weak from loss of blood and pure exhaustion. I didn't want to think about it, but I knew she wouldn't have much time left. 'Run, Kopa.' She told me with her last breaths. 'Live on.' I didn't want to leave, but she kept urging me on. 'My part here is done, but you still have a purpose to fulfill. You must… live.'

"I ran. I leapt out of the tree and didn't look back to see if the hyenas were giving chase. I kept running till morning. That's when I saw Pride Rock for the first time. But it was also the first time since the night before I remembered what I had… left behind. The adrenaline was gone, my energy was spent, and I had to push myself to keep walking towards this place. I knew it was what Grandma wanted, but… I left her. I'll never be able to forgive myself…"

Everyone's eyes were glued to the mourning prince. He was clearly heartbroken, on the edge of breaking down…

"Well… I forgive you."

Just the words he needed to hear. Who was it? Kopa lifted his head to identify the speaker whose voice he couldn't quite place, his hearing muffled by his own sobbing. He found his mother giving her best efforts at a comforting smile.

"You… did all that you could… for her. No one could have asked you for more."

The smile was weak, but the motive was clear and reassuring. It was enough to make Kopa smile as well, if only for a moment. He quickly began crying again and mourned softly into the fur of his mother's chest. Nala did her best to comfort her son, humming soft lullabies in his ear and gently stroking his mane with a paw. Kiara also joined in, rubbing her head against Kopa's. It wasn't long before the three had fallen asleep in their own secluded corner of the cave. Simba, who had been too choked up to speak at all, drifted off to sleep by himself, where Sarafina (Nala's mother) had joined him to encourage the king and to help deal with her own loss. Kovu, who normally slept with Kiara, found his own spot against the wall of the den. The rest of the pride slept normally, not being close enough to (or even knowing, in some cases) the deceased queen to be affected too severely.

Kopa's first chance to sleep well in days, but he would find no rest tonight. Not tonight…

~ æ ~ | ~ æ ~

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Ending Thoughts:

Okay, so we have a real plot now; Kopa's come back, Sarabi is dead, and Kiara is no longer the sole heiress to the Pridelands. What sort of trouble might this bring about? How will Kovu feel about the competition? Does Kopa really care so much about being king, or is he content with rejoining the pride? Find out all this, and more, next time!

Alright, so you'll probably only find out one of them in the next chapter, maybe two. You'll have to wait a while for the rest. Lemme know what you think, drop me a review, good, bad, or indifferent. Tell me what I'm doing good, tell me what's not so great. As the story isn't so popular at the moment, I only have a few reviews and I'll undoubtedly respond as I have nothing better to do.

Until next time... :)


	3. Chapter 2: What'd I Miss

Author's Note:

Firstly, I'd just like to apologize for the disgracefully long break between this chapter and the previous one. Writer's block and all that jazz.

As for _this _chapter, those of you who are still following the story will be pleased to know that Chapter 2 is quite a bit longer than Chapter 1. About 70% longer, actually. :) I was toying with the idea of breaking it up into two parts, but decided against it for this reason: I'd like my chapters to all end up being closer to the length that this one turned out to be. So, rather than splitting it and keeping myself around 3k words per chapter, I decided to aim a bit higher and go for somewhere around 4.5-6k (just a general range to give myself some leeway in either direction).

I personally like how this chapter turned out and I'm also liking where it's going, story-wise. I finally have a definitive plot as to how the rest of the story will play out (something it's usually good to set down from the start, but whatever). Exciting stuff, I know.

What exactly _happens_ in this thrilling installment of TLK3? Good question. Read it and find out! :3

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**Chapter 2****: What'd I miss?**

None of the lions who knew Sarabi to any significant extent, essentially all who stayed with Simba when the pride was split, woke up at any hour one would consider "normal" waking hours. The tragic revelation of the night before had little effect on those previously considered "Outlanders", however. They were out as per usual. However, they did make a valiant attempt to keep any rowdy behavior or obnoxious conversation outside and away from those still sleeping.

It was long after sunrise that Kopa, Kiara, and Nala finally stirred, feeling only slightly less distressed than the night before. Most of the other grievers had awoken by this time and happily greeted the queen and her children as they proceeded out of the den. Nala couldn't help but smile at the support the pride was giving in this wretched time. Then she turned to her children, both walking slowly, side-by-side, with their gazes to the rocky floor. Suddenly she felt a wave of regret wash over her. _How can I sit here and be so forlorn when my son, the one who's been gone all this time, is finally home? I should be ashamed…_

"Kopa. Kiara." Both raised their heads simultaneously, one slow, identical motion.

"What would your grandmother think knowing how upset you both are for her sake? You two have long, prosperous lives ahead of you. She wouldn't want you to waste that grieving for her."

"But, mother, it's my fault!" Kopa suddenly exclaimed.

"Kopa!" his mother scolded, and then continued more softly, "No one blames you for what happened. You kept her body from being desecrated by those loathsome creatures. She is finally with Mufasa again; I'm sure she is far happier where she is now."

Kopa smiled for a moment, and then gave a more serious look at the sky. He knew he wouldn't find any trace of his grandmother in the sunny afternoon air, but the belief that the stories she had told him as a cub were true kept him longing for the night when he'd be able to see her again. His mother's words were

comforting, and he couldn't deny that he felt a burden lift from his heart upon hearing them, but he would still never forget.

"Excuse me…" a tentative but firm voice came from the side, "I don't mean to interrupt, but have any of you seen Vitani? She said she was only going to stay out near the border for a day, so I expected her back by now."

The voice belonged to Kam, Vitani's love struck fiancé. Nala was the one to reply, "No, Kam. I'm sorry, but I haven't seen a sign of her since she left, but if I do see her I'll be sure to let her know you're looking for her."

"Thank you, queen Nala. I wonder what could be keeping her…"

Vitani awoke as usual, only minutes after the sun began to rise. Safara and Mali slept silently a few feet away. Vitani's slowly got to her feet and stretched out her muscles, a number of them popping from the lack of use during the night. After finding a comfortable sitting position, Vitani looked out across the savannah. Her stomach rumbled and she raised a paw to the spot, as if placing the paw over her stomach would quell the noise. _I'm hungry, _she thought, _I wonder if any of the herds are out and about yet…_

It didn't seem likely, so she did her best to put her rebellious stomach to the back of her mind. The herds wouldn't wake up for hours, and neither would her two companions, if the steady rise and fall of their sides and the dreamily content looks on their faces was any indicator. Vitani was sure she wouldn't be able to sleep again, though, so she decided on a short walk to get her blood pumping. Hopefully, Safara and Mali would be awake by the time she got back, and with any luck, they'd be hungry enough to split a gazelle with her.

So she took off without a word. Bounding noiselessly down the rock pile, Vitani made her way out into the savannah, looking back only once in that habitual way you can never seem to _not_ do, if only to make sure whatever you just left hadn't magically teleported into another dimension. As expected, the rocks were still standing tall and firm, Safara and Mali still perched silently atop them.

Vitani didn't expect to see anything new or exciting; it wasn't like she hadn't done this half a million times before. As a matter of fact, she soon found that she was absent-mindedly falling into step with a path she had often taken in the days following her mother's death and the uniting of the Outlanders and Pridelanders. She had long since overcome the uncertainty about her new living conditions, but Vitani still found the sheer beauty of the nature all around her uplifting.

As she continued on her way, Vitani began to notice small rustlings in the undergrowth as she passed and she soon found traces of gazelle spread out throughout a clearing of savannah grass. The area was trampled down as if a large group of animals had been resting there not long ago; the scent of prey filled her nostrils and her mouth began to water. _Just what I need… _she thought, sending a silent prayer of thanks to Ahieu for the opportunity to get some easy hunting in. The herd couldn't have moved far since the sun came up and the fresh scent easily confirmed that they were indeed still nearby.

It wasn't long before Vitani came across her first visual verification: a young gazelle, not much more than a calf, grazing peacefully with its mother eating nearby. Scattered in the area, Vitani noted that half a dozen others were within a single bound of the first animal she spotted. _Well, the young one looks healthy enough, and its mother seems to be getting on in years… heh, they won't miss her._

Lost in the thrill of the hunt, Vitani crept silently along with all the skill she had built up over the years, keeping downwind at all times, and making absolutely sure none of the fragile creatures would have the slightest clue she was there until the last moment. She pounced with precision and ease, tackling the female with all the strength she could muster. Vitani clamped down hard on the screaming gazelle's neck, quickly finding the jugular to put it out of its misery. Having made a successful kill, Vitani lapped the blood from around her lips with a somewhat sadistic satisfaction; but then, that was life on the savannah: eat or be eaten.

Something strange happened next, something Vitani wouldn't have expected in an infinite number of rising and setting suns. From the corner of her eye, she managed to see the shining glint of gazelle horns just seconds before they were able to score across her side. She just barely dodged, still holding her kill defensively in her jaws. Now that she had a better look at her attacker, Vitani was able to distinguish the young gazelle she had spotted grazing next to its mother when her hunt began.

It was either too stupid to run away with the rest, or too grief-stricken to understand it was next on the menu if it didn't run away. Vitani wasn't trying to feed the whole pride though, just herself, Safara, and Mali if he was hungry enough. This was lucky for the young gazelle, but terribly annoying for Vitani, who now had to choose how to dispatch the yearling without actually killing it.

Before she had much time to think, the gazelle charged again, though Vitani was ready this time and managed to avoid the attack with ease. She sidestepped the weak charges again and again, hoping with all her might that it would simply give up and run away to find the rest of its herd. Realizing this wasn't likely to happen after a few minutes of simply dodging to the side, Vitani decided that she had had enough.

She waited patiently for the weary gazelle to charge her once more; just before it reached her she roared, "Back OFF!"

She swung a paw, claws sheathed, and swatted the gazelle squarely on the side of the head, sending it sprawling to the side where it lay in the dust, unmoving. _Oh, jeez. I hope I didn't _kill _the stupid thing._

Much to Vitani's relief, the gazelle slowly rose to its feet, took one look in her direction, meeting her glare with a look a pure horror, and scuttled off into the sea of grass. "And _that's_ why you're at the _bottom _of the food chain, ya dummy!" Vitani shouted before picking up her kill and dragging it back the way she came.

When Vitani got back to the rock pile, she could easily make out the shadow of Safara's body in the late morning sunlight. She was waiting patiently atop, sitting next to the still sleeping Mali. Vitani leapt nimbly from rock to rock, carcass dangling from her mouth, to meet her friend's understanding gaze when she got to the top.

"So, went out hunting?" Safara asked plainly.

"Actually, it was just a walk. I just happened to get lucky." Vitani responded, not making much effort to hide the tentative smile creeping across her face. "You'll never guess what I had to do to get this thing back though." Her smile shifted to more of a playful expression.

"What? Were you attacked by a swarm of mongoose?"

Vitani laughed. "Nope. Good guess though. Ya see, this was a mother, getting old, of course; she wasn't much use to the herd anymore anyhow. But she was eating right near her baby; must've been no more than a year old." Safara listened with amusement as Vitani told the story of her "epic" battle with the yearling gazelle.

"Wait wait wait, so you had to fight off the baby gazelle?" Safara could hardly contain her laughter at this point. "I can't believe you actually went through the trouble of making sure it was okay afterwards." It took a few minutes for her to calm down entirely, and in that time Mali had woken up to the fresh smell of gazelle meat.

"I smell food…" he mumbled groggily, walking up to the two lionesses.

"Are you positive?" Vitani asked him playfully, "You sure you're not just imagining it?"

"Pretty sure," he responded, the fact he had just woken up moments ago still evident in his tone. Vitani could swear she heard some genuine sarcasm thrown in there as well. "Mmm. Is that gazelle?" His eyes seemed to clear and his usual sunny disposition returned upon noticing the carcass lying not far away.

"That it is. Go crazy." Vitani urged him, "Just save some for us!" she added lightheartedly upon seeing the little ball of fuzz crash head first into the fresh kill.

As expected, there was plenty left for the two lionesses once the excitable cub had had his fill. After they had finished eating, they settled down for a habitual catnap, all of their bellies contentedly full. It didn't matter much that two-thirds of them had just woken up; a full belly was more than enough reason for any normal lion to settle down for a rest, especially normal lions that had a long journey ahead of them.

The day changed slowly around the sleeping forms, the sun shifting from high in the sky, slowly falling lower and lower until it had nearly fallen out of view beyond the horizon. The savannah was bathed in the orangey glow of sunset by the time the lions awoke in much the same fashion as they had in the morning, barring the short hunting session. They each rose and stretched in turn, loosening their leg muscles in preparation for the trek back to Pride Rock.

If they headed out immediately, it wouldn't be particularly strenuous work to make it back before the pride was entirely asleep. That was the goal they would aim for: no stops, no distractions. Vitani gave a last glance at the shadowed, now abandoned, termite mounds and headed off, leading the others back northward. _It doesn't matter, _she told herself, _That part of my life is over. No sense dwelling on stuff I can't change… _

Vitani still thought about the life she left behind in joining Simba's pride on occasion; it had seemed the right thing to do at the time, with her mother rambling about revenge as she often did in those days, but was it really? She couldn't have really known whether her mother was right or not in wanting to take vengeance on Simba for killing Scar, but one thing she _did _know was that it didn't involve her. It never did, and Zira had no right to rob her of her childhood over her stupid obsessions… it's not like Vitani ever knew Scar. Hell, he wasn't even her father; what'd she care if he got picked off the throne that was apparently his? That's what happened to the weak, right?

"Hey…"

Then again, there _was_ that sense of power… that feeling she got every morning, waking up with the knowledge that she was being trained to be stronger than any other lioness, any lion, for that matter. She

was certainly stronger than Nala; if Kiara and Kovu hadn't leaped in to stop the battle, Vitani would have torn her to pieces in a couple minutes.

"'Tani. Are you…?"

And KIARA, bah! She couldn't fight her way out of a cluster of savannah grass! What makes _her _so special, that she gets to be queen when Simba and Nala step down? She's a ditz and a half, can't hunt any better than a big, fat, clumsy _male_, and her fighting and leadership skills are literally _lower _than _nothing_.

"HEY!"

Vitani snapped out of her darkening thoughts to the voice of Safara, who had caught up with her and was staring at her with a look of either concern or pity. "Are you all right? You stopped dead, and you've been glaring at that patch of dirt for a good while now." Safara's gaze turned to one of amusement as Vitani's face scrunched in confusion and slight embarrassment. "It's okay!" Mali chimed in, "She's just showing that dirt who's the boss around here, right Aunt 'Tani?" He smiled that cubbish smile that always cheered Vitani up and she returned it wholeheartedly, "Watch it, kid."

"Watching," he replied easily, the smile never leaving his face. Vitani laughed at the unexpected tribute to a brand of sarcasm she knew quite well, often using it herself. Mali always had a way with taking Vitani's scatterbrained insecurities and skepticism off her mind. Then again, what _about_ those insecurities? After all, Kovu… he always got the best-

_Okay, just SHUT UP. Right now. This is NOT the time to be thinking about this crap; you joined Simba's pride, you're a Pridelander now, the Outlanders no longer exist. get _over _it. _

Well, alright then.

The group proceeded on their (relatively) merry way, though not before Safara remarked on the fact Vitani was glaring again, this time at a specific point in the dimming sky. Perhaps a cloud that didn't look quite right, Mali suggested thoughtfully. The trip was mostly quiet from that point on.

Traveling in silence, the band soon came in sight of the black silhouette of Pride Rock, looming majestically in the distance. It was about this point in time that things got just a_ little _bit more complicated. _Just when I thought I might get back without any trouble… _Vitani thought grimly as the scent of blood flooded her nostrils. It wasn't fresh, but it was certainly recent enough to smell from quite a distance. She cast Safara a sideways glance to meet the lioness's fearful and apprehensive stare; she had clearly smelled it as well.

Mali seemed a bit overwhelmed by the situation, not actually recognizing the odor beyond the fact it 'smelled bad'; it was 'not like the stuff in food' as he so eloquently explained it. Vitani and Safara, regrettably, had had their fair share of first-paw experience with this. It was _lion_ blood.

Heading towards the scent of blood, getting stronger as they went, the trio strayed off their original course, much to Vitani's dismay. It was necessary, though, to find out what the hell had happened. They were heading west, away from any part of the Pride lands the lions of Pride Rock ever visited beyond the king's daily border patrol. _Shouldn't Simba have noticed this on his little stroll around the border? I mean, it's not like the smell is difficult to pick up… _Vitani wrinkled her nose in disgust as the smell grew to an overwhelming climax; they found it. The fresh corpse of a lioness, just about Vitani's age, by the look of her build. Just a few feet from her open mouth lay a deceased cub, its eyes still wide in apparent terror, no doubt the handiwork of whatever killed the poor souls. _At least it died quickly… _Vitani thought morbidly.

Safara sat dumbly at a distance, mouth agape in a shocked silence. Mali, though clearly traumatized by the mere sight, allowed his curiosity to reign, and slowly paced up to the dead cub and nuzzled it mournfully. It was a female, Vitani noticed, looking it over again. She had a beautiful rust-colored coat, identical to her mother, tainted by blood, the fur matted into clumps where it would appear to have been bitten numerous times.

The bite, and claw, marks seemed to be focused around particular areas: about half way down each leg, at the joint, and all down the tail. One last bite mark around the neck was all Vitani could find. Not sure whether to be bewildered about this discovery, Vitani decided to give the mother a quick once-over as well. She found very much the same treatment had been dealt to her. _Why the uniformity? _she wondered.

A frightened squeak from Mali caused Vitani to jump in alarm, "There's something _alive _over here!" he screamed, pointing hurriedly at a bundle of fur beneath the lifeless lioness, curled neatly into a ball near her belly. "It's another cub, Aunt 'Tani, it's another cub! THIS ONE'S ALIVE!"

"Ahieu be praised…" she breathed, trotting up behind Mali, and finally seeing what he had: the slow, irregular rise and fall of a cub's flanks, very much alive, if only just barely. It was another female, looking much like the first, though its fur was a shade or two darker, tinted with black, something she must have inherited from her father.

Vitani took a step forward, as if to approach the young female, but Mali stopped her. "No, let me wake her up," the cub told her determinedly. "What? Why should you-" Mali cut her off, "Because you're huge! You're more likely to scare the crap out of her and give her a heart attack than anything else," he whispered viciously. Vitani looked taken aback, almost angry that this kid had the nerve to tell her what to do, but before she could retort, Safara stepped in to voice her agreement with Mali, "He's making sense, 'Tani. She's less likely to get scared and run off if she doesn't meet something five times her size the moment she wakes up after losing her mother and sister."

Vitani sighed and nodded, then turned back to Mali and motioned with a paw for him to go to her. He didn't need to be told twice, and he was by her side in an instant. Bending down to prod the sleeping form with a tentative paw, Mali was met by a harsh awakening and a back-sided paw-to-the-face. Stumbling backwards, the cub fell flat on his back and lay there for a moment, apparently too stunned to get back up.

At first, the unknown cub's face was furious, seeming to want to rip something's throat out, but upon seeing Vitani and Safara staring back at her with slight amusement, she seemed to grow slightly nervous. Her gaze finally came to rest on Mali, who was just now getting back to his feet, still looking dazed. The cub's face immediately became apologetic and she closed to distance between them in a few bounding steps.

"Are you okay? I didn't mean to hurt you." she asked Mali, her manner seemingly contrite. Not sure whether to be insulted or forgiving, Mali just looked at her for a moment, perhaps sizing her up.

"That's okay," he responded matter-of-factly, "Y-you just caught me off guard, that's all." He didn't look at her as he responded and he made sure to give his chest fur a few quick licks in between to keep himself looking confident. _Ha, he's so full of it. He's just mad she _nailed _him. _Vitani thought to herself, sporting a wicked grin for about a half-second before coming back to reality with the current situation.

"So, who are you anyway…? And, uh- what exactly… happened here?" Vitani decided to get right to the point.

The young female nearly jumped out of her fur when Vitani addressed her. It was obvious she was still quite jumpy from whatever it was that had happened. Vitani noticed this quickly and lay down a comfortable distance away from the cub to make herself seem less threatening; Safara keenly followed suit.

"W-well… I'm - I mean… m-my name is Azalee," she replied weakly, "And…" she continued, sniffling, "My family… my pride…" She stopped here, unable to continue her explanation due to an inevitable sobbing fit she was desperately trying to hold back, biting her lower lip so hard it appeared she might start bleeding from the pressure alone. All three Pridelanders looked on with varying levels of sympathy for the cub.

"They're all dead…" Vitani finished for her.

"THEY'RE ALL _DEAD_!" Azalee confirmed, finally giving in to her sorrow, bawling openly. Mali glared at Vitani for a moment, as if it were her fault that Azalee was in the shape she was; he nudged the mourning cub's shoulder comfortingly. When she didn't stop crying for a few minutes straight, Vitani and Safara decided to step away for a minute to discuss their current predicament.

"So, what're we gonna do with her?" Safara asked up front.

"Well, we can't very well leave her here to rot with her mother's corpse, can we?" Vitani spat back.

Safara shook her head in response. "But I still don't think Simba's going to like it much."

"I'll be _damned _if I let his highness' opinion get in the way of getting this cub safely nursed back to health," Vitani didn't try to hide the disdain in her voice when she said 'highness'. "And besides, if Simba were stubborn enough to reject Azalee, then he'd be just as insane as… as my mother was." Safara was silent. "…there's plenty of food to spare for one more mouth at Pride Rock, and I don't plan on taking 'no' for an answer."

"Are you going through another one of your 'rebellion' phases, 'Tani?"

"Yeah, something like that."

When the pair of lionesses returned to Mali and the weeping Azalee, they discovered that though she was still teary-eyed and sniffling, Azalee was no longer sobbing her eyes out. That was a good thing, right?

When Mali noticed them approaching, he quickly whispered something in Azalee's ear, trotted up to meet them, and began speaking straight away in a somewhat hushed tone, "Okay, while you guys were gone, I managed to get Azalee to tell me a few things."

"Great work, Mali!" Vitani praised him quietly, "What did you find out?"

"Well, for one thing, she told me just how her… uh, family and pride… died." Vitani and Safara stared at the cub in a shocked silence, awaiting the cause of so much pain and suffering. Mali licked his lips nervously a couple times, as if not sure how best to say what he was going to say. After a few agonizingly slow seconds, he finished, saying, "It was hyenas."

At first, the female duo in front of him seemed to be too dumbfounded to speak, but it was Safara who spoke first, "Hyenas? Those wicked creatures haven't been seen in these parts for _years_, Mali."

"Are you saying she was _lying _to me?" Mali shot back, "That's what Azalee told me, and I believe her!"

"Calm down," Vitani, decidedly the peacemaker for this conversation, replied, "Safara's right; no one has seen a hyena in or near the Pride lands since before my time. BUT!" she interjected before Mali could argue, "Mali's right too, Safara. At the moment, we've got no evidence to prove otherwise, so all we have to go by is what Azalee says. So if she says there're hyenas about, and in pretty powerful numbers by the look of things, then we had better be prepared to fend off hyenas in the near future."

Both lioness and cub seemed to be satisfied with that answer, but neither moved, still focusing on Vitani. Her face was staring darkly at the ground and she clearly had something more to say. Raising her head so she was looking directly at both of them, nothing but seriousness in her voice and visage, she continued, "But if she _is _right, and hyenas are the ones to blame for this mess, then we have got some serious, _serious _problems." She looked over at the corpse of Azalee's mother and sister, "I don't know when hyenas added precision killing to their list of hobbies, but I _do_ know that we have to warn the king about this. _Now_."

Vitani turned to Safara, who was looking absolutely speechless, "Grab the kid; I'll take Azalee. We're going."

Suddenly, the savannah didn't seem quite so safe anymore. Safara did as she was told, quickly grabbing Mali by the scruff and starting off towards Pride Rock. Vitani approached Azalee at a brisk trot, not wanting to run full out and risk scaring her off into the long grasses. "Where are you guys going? Why is she taking Mali away?" Azalee asked frantically as Vitani closed the distance between them. "I'm sorry," she replied, "There's no time for questions now. We're taking you to a place that's safe." _I hope. _Without waiting for a response from the cub, Vitani bent over, grabbed her by the scruff, and took off after Safara.

Though it was clear the group would not make it back to Pride Rock before the other pride members and, more importantly, the king fell asleep, Vitani intended to get back before _she_ gave in to sleep. Pride Rock would be safe, if only for the time being; there were enough lions residing there to make any attack difficult, regardless of the number of enemies. The savannah, especially at night, however, was an entirely different story. Vitani figured it unlikely that this nameless group of hyenas could have moved into the Pride lands yet. Even after a single day, the impact on the prey would have become apparent if such a large force of predators were to move in. All the same, there was no telling how far they would span patrols in their territory outside of the Pride lands or if they would come looking for the lioness and cub they had killed.

After the light had faded completely behind the sloped horizon, Vitani and Safara had to focus on the silhouette of Pride Rock ever harder to be sure they were heading in the proper direction. Every time a stray cloud drifted across the path of the moon, blackening the already dark savannah, the older lionesses would stop abruptly, glancing about in apprehension.

Though she knew they weren't real, Vitani began to see terrifying images everywhere she looked. Cruel, dark images of snarling, snapping jaws and glowing, green eyes burning holes through her pelt from the grasses on all sides. She quickened her pace. Safara matched it. It wasn't long before they had reached the foot of the monolithic monument they now called home.

They immediately made for the entrance to the pride cave, but they were stopped just as swiftly. "Where do you two think you're going in such a hurry? Trying to sneak in after dark?"

Vitani and Safara put the cubs they were carrying down in front of them. "What are you, a night guard?" Vitani asked crossly, "Never mind, don't answer that. We need to speak to the king ay-sap. Is he up, too?"

"No, actually. A pretty big thing went down while you were out frolicking in your nostalgia." The lioness who stopped them was about to continue when she looked down at their feet and seemed to lose her breath in the back of her throat. "Wait a minute… You only left with _one_ cub. Where'd you pick up the spare?"

"It's a long story; and I'd rather not tell it twice… I'll leave that for when I can tell Simba."

"Best make yourself comfortable then. He's been through a lot tonight. I wouldn't recommend waking him."

"Fine," was all Vitani offered in response, and that was the end of the conversation. Vitani picked Azalee back up and Safara did the same with Mali. The pair padded into the den and looked around. The sleeping quarters were a mess; no one seemed to be in their normal spots. _That's weird… _Vitani thought, but didn't take it to heart any further than that. She spotted Kiara sleeping in a corner with her mother and… Simba? No, she could've sworn she had seen Simba elsewhere in the cave, resting with Sarafina nearby. Safara noticed the group about the same time as Vitani had and padded softly to Kiara's side and gently placed Mali at his mother's side. The cub, feeling the warmth of his mother's flank, instinctively wriggled closer and snuggled into the princess' fur.

When Safara returned to Vitani's side, the blue-eyed lioness motioned for the other to follow her. She did so, padding behind Vitani until they reached an open space where the two, plus a half, of them could lay down. Vitani put Azalee down first; she appeared to be squirming uncomfortably in her dream-filled unconsciousness. Maternal-instincts switching on, Vitani lay down next to her and pulled the restless cub into her forepaws, hoping the subconscious feel of a motherly embrace would be enough to allay the cub's apparent anxiety. It seemed to have little affect at first, but Azalee's fidgeting eventually began to die down, whether by Vitani's comforting touch or the end of whatever had been plaguing her thoughts was unknown.

"Hey, Safara. Did you notice that new guy?" Vitani whispered softly.

Already fading fast into sleep, Safara replied after stifling a yawn, "You mean the one sleeping with Kiara and the queen? Yeah, I saw him."

"Who do you think he is?"

"I don't know, 'Tani," this time Safara was unable to hold the yawn back, "But I'm really not that concerned about it either. If you are, maybe you should just ask somebody in the morning. Right now, it's late, and I'm tired as hell. G'night." Safara lightly butted heads with Vitani before laying down a few feet away and curling up to fall asleep.

_Yeah, Safara's right. No big deal. I'll ask about him in the morning… _Vitani found it easier than she imagined to get to sleep, and it wasn't long before she saw the comforting back of her eyelids.

~ æ ~ | ~ æ ~

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Closing Thoughts:

Betcha weren't expecting THAT! ... alright, so maybe you were. I dunno. I just felt like saying that. Regardless, I thought it turned out pretty well. What do _you_ think? Don't hesitate to toss me a review and let me know; I always appreciate constructive criticism. (General praise is nice too.) ;)

Now, I'm not going to confirm or deny the return of the hyenas just yet, mostly because I like to be a pain in the ass and generate suspense. 8D So I'll leave that up to you guys to decide. For now. If you weren't able to piece it together through the story on your own, you'll find out soon enough. Also, though I'm sure none of you remember at this point, I apologize for lying in my closing thoughts of the last chapter. I said I'd go into Kovu's feelings on Kopa's return and delve into Kopa's thoughts on his return to a potential kingly position as well, at least a little bit. Unfortunately, this chapter turned out longer than I thought and I simply had no room to focus on anything but Vitani's POV.

Suffice to say, I should be able to get into Kovu and Kopa's brains a little bit in the next chapter.

As usual, no guarantees on the date of the next chapter (especially considering I've yet to start this one...), but I will give it a valiant attempt to _not _take 4 months this time.

Till next time, guys. (I feel like Hobbs. Lol.)


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